Local schools win PREPS awards

GCHS, McLain recognized for improvements in testing

By ANNETTE HARVISON
Herald Correspondent
Two local schools received awards last week for improvements made in state testing.
The Program for Research and Evaluation for Public Schools (PREPS) notified Supt. of Education Charles L. Breland last Tuesday that Greene County High School and McLain Attendance Center were recipients of the PREPS 2018 Value-Added Award.
Greene County High School received awards for Algebra I, Biology I and English II. GCHS Principal Scott Bray says educators at the school are working hard each school year to prepare students for the subject-area tests. Bray said he is proud of his staff and students for their effort and determination for higher test scores.
“We are extremely excited about winning these awards,” Bray said. “It is a prime example of how hard our teachers and students work.”
Greene County High School has been an ‘A’ and ‘B’ school for the past several years and subject-area testing is a big part of the schools’ accountability ratings. Other factors, such as ACT scores and graduation rates, are part of the equation as well.
“I want to recognize Ricky Dickson, our Curriculum Coordinator, who does a tremendous job working to ensure the students get what they need in education,” Bray added. “I also want to recognize Tylina Chatham who is our interventionist and helps with tutoring.”
“Everyone plays a part to making our school successful.”
McLain Attendance Center is a recipient of the PREPS Value-Added award in the 3-8 grade area of Language Arts.
“We are really excited and humbled by the recognition,” MAC Principal Jennifer Pulliam said. “Our teachers are coming in and working hard every day and our kids work really hard and are responding well to the change in mindset.”
“We’ve made some changes and are constantly re-evaluating what we are doing so we can continue to make progress.”
PREPS takes into consideration the test scores from the previous year as well as socioeconomic factors when presenting awards. Although PREPS
does not evaluate every school in the state, they do have a large membership network in which the majority of Mississippi school districts are included. Greene County was the only school district among neighboring counties (Wayne, Perry and George) to earn awards this year.
Administration and teachers from award-winning schools have been invited to attend the 2018 Mississippi Educators Partnership Conference. The conference will be held in Ridgeland on Feb. 25-27 and is being hosted by PREPS and Mississippi Association of Partners in Education (MAPE). Awards will be presented at a luncheon Feb. 26, and the MAPE Governor’s Awards will be presented at a luncheon on Feb. 27. Supt. Breland and Bray are slated to represent Greene County Schools during this conference.